


Maybe the pressure will make diamonds of us both

by Rosetylars



Series: Saschanos [2]
Category: Sports RPF, Tennis RPF
Genre: Aka a big disaster for the boys, Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Wimbledon 2019, ice cream date, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 09:46:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19461436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosetylars/pseuds/Rosetylars
Summary: “Will you smile if we have some ice cream and try to forget? Please?”Sascha smiled despite his mood. “Sorry. Let’s have ice cream. One more kiss?”Stef rolled his eyes with a grin as they leaned into each other for another peck.“Poor ice cream girl, let’s order,” Sascha mused, noticing the staff member trying to mind her own business with two giants kissing and having a deep and meaningful in front of her.***Or: After both boys lost their first round matches at Wimbledon, sulking and romance ensues.





	Maybe the pressure will make diamonds of us both

**Author's Note:**

> This is fiction! The people and places are real, but the story is not.
> 
> This is a loose sequel to my previous fic “Just admit it, you like each other”, though can be read on its own.

Stef couldn’t sleep. He wouldn’t admit that he was sulking... but he was thinking deeply while also feeling quite frustrated and sorry with himself. He rolled over and looked at the clock on his bedside table: the red numbers flashed back at him, 10:02pm. He groaned. 

His family had looked at him strangely when he announced at 9pm that he was going to bed. He usually stayed up much later, especially when the whole family was in one place for such a short period of time, but everyone forgave his little strop. His family understood how much pressure Stef had put on himself not just this Wimbledon tournament, but the entire year. He was so determined to be consistent that sometimes he placed an extraordinary amount of extra pressure on himself, and that all culminated in his first round loss to Fabbiano. 

Stef was about to resort to taking a sleeping tablet when his phone vibrated with a message. 

He picked it up and read the screen. His heart fluttered when he saw it was from Sascha. “Are you awake?” 

Stef instantly replied: “Nope. Sleeping.”

His phone vibrated in his hand with an incoming call. 

“Are you grumpy?” Sascha asked without greeting. 

“Of course I am,” Stef groaned, “I’m a loser.”

“That makes two of us,” Sascha replied lightly, “what are you doing?” 

“I’m sleeping, I told you.”

“Stop sulking,” Sascha joked, “I have a suggestion.”

Stef hummed with enquiry. 

“There’s a little ice cream shop down the road open 24 hours, and I’m desperate to try it, will you come with me?” 

It had worked out that the Zverev and Tsitsipas families had booked houses for the tournament located just a block away from each other. Stef’s dad Apostolos had informed him that the tournament director had recommended the location, but Stef knew deep down it was his dad’s doing, and that he was supportive of whatever on earth Stef and Sascha had going on. Not that they knew themselves what that was, either. 

Stef groaned but couldn’t help the smile that made its way onto his face. “But I’ve already brushed my teeth.”

Sascha properly laughed then, for the first time since his match. “Meet you out the front of yours in ten, idiot,” he said fondly. 

Stef smiled and ended the call. Since he hadn’t planned on a late night adventure, he was wearing pyjamas. He looked through the clothes lying around the room and found some track pants, a t shirt and a jacket. He didn’t realise that re-emerging over an hour after retreating to bed, fully dressed, would attract the attention of his family who sat together at the dining table playing card games. 

Petros spoke first. “You said you were asleep!”

“Could’ve been playing games with us, Stef,” Paul added. 

Their mother Yulia frowned at her teenaged sons. “Are you feeling better, darling?” She asked Stef. 

Stef tried to smile but it came out as a grimace. “Not exactly, but Sascha called and wants to get ice cream nearby,” he explained. 

Elisavet beamed. “Yes, let’s go get ice cream!”

Paul and Petros both opened their mouths to agree but Stef shot his mother a look of desperation. 

With understanding, Yulia said, “It’s late. Let Stefanos go with his -” she struggled, “- friend, and he can let us know how the shop is, and we can all go back together tomorrow.” 

Stef gave his mother a grateful smile. “Thanks, that sounds good. I’ll see you guys in the morning if you aren’t up after.” He kicked on the shoes he’d left beside the door and headed out the front door, where Sascha was already waiting. 

Sascha greeted him with a shy smile, which Stef returned. Sascha leaned in to give him a chaste peck on the lips. 

“Hi,” Sascha smiled, “I was hoping when we met up again it might be in a big match at Wimbledon, but here we are, first round losers.”

Stef grimaced. “Sorry about your match. I wanted to text you earlier.” 

They began walking the short distance towards the string of shops that included the ice cream shop they were heading for. 

“I wondered if you might be sulking, cause I was sulking too, I was a real mess, then I realised maybe we should sulk together,” Sascha rambled. He cringed at himself, not expecting Stefanos to respond so warmly to his garble. 

Stef grabbed at Sascha’s hand and beamed. “That’s actually very sweet, Sasch.”

Both boys smiled. They settled into a comfortable silence on their short journey. 

“Please don’t be so hard on yourself,” Sascha said suddenly. “You’re so much better than you think.”

Stef was touched. “I could say the same for you, Sascha. Especially so.”

Sascha grimaced. “Honestly? I feel like a failure. Everyone thinks it’s hilarious when I fail at slams. I always thought I had it within me to succeed in the bigger tournaments, but what if I am just a pretender like they say? What if I’m just an average player who happens to beat people in smaller tournaments?” 

Stef took his hand again despite his mind telling him that was stupid. “Stop it, none of that is true! You lost one match. 63 others lost as well, that’s how slam draws work. One bad day doesn’t define who you are, Sasch,” Stef placated. 

Sascha shook his head. “It’s not one bad day. I’m just not myself any more.” 

“Hey, listen to me,” Stef grabbed both of Sascha’s hands and turned him so they were looking eye to eye, in the middle of the footpath. “You are the most bubbly, sarcastic, hilarious and caring person I’ve ever met. None of that changes just because of one tennis match. You’re still my - you’re still Sascha. Don’t forget who you are outside of tennis, because that person is who you are to me.” 

Sascha was overcome with emotion but was saved from needing to conjure up a reply as they had arrived at their ice cream shop.

“I thought I was trying to cheer you up tonight, not the other way around,” Sascha sighed, “sorry for being such a misery.”

Stef kissed Sascha. “Please give yourself a break. We lost. We’re still healthy, our families are here, you haven’t let yourself or anyone else down just by having a bad day,” Stef reasoned. “Will you smile if we have some ice cream and try to forget? Please?” 

Sascha smiled despite his mood. “Sorry. Let’s have ice cream. One more kiss?” 

Stef rolled his eyes with a grin as they leaned into each other for another peck. 

“Poor ice cream girl, let’s order,” Sascha mused, noticing the staff member trying to mind her own business with two giants kissing and having a deep and meaningful in front of her. 

Stef ordered mango gelato and Sascha ordered a double scoop of mint chip in a chocolate dipped waffle cone. Sascha insisted on paying and Stef let him - he was impossible to argue with at the best of times, let alone under emotional stress. 

They decided to head back outside to eat their ice cream (as the poor girl inside had already seen enough) as it was a lovely night. They wandered a little further down the street until it reached a turn. A small park was at the end of the straight section, and they happened across a park bench to sit at. Beyond the park the land fell away and the boys were left with the perfect view of London.

Sascha had known Stefanos would want some of his ice cream since before he ordered it. Stefanos had sworn he only wanted one scoop in a cup, and that was long gone. After Stef’s seventh “subtle” glance at Sascha’s ice cream cone, he relented. “Would you like some?” Sascha rolled his eyes with a grin. 

Stefanos beamed. “The cone looks amazing,” he gushed. Sascha parted ways with what was left of his ice cream: he’d bought the double scoop expecting this precise situation to unfold. 

They both sat in deep thought for a while after that, admiring the beautiful view and the twinkling lights of the city below. 

“Did you mean everything you said before?” Sascha asked quietly.

Stef took Sascha’s hand again. He’d stopped fighting himself on that front. “Of course I did. You’re so much more than just a tennis player, and when you lose one match, or even several, you’re still the same amazing Sascha to me.” 

Sascha leant his head on Stef’s shoulder. “How did I get so lucky having you as my boyfriend?” He mused. 

Both boys went tense with shock and Sascha bolted upright again. He opened his mouth to backtrack, but Stef beat him to it. 

“Am I your boyfriend?” He asked in shock. 

Sascha was frozen. “Sorry, it slipped out,” he blurted. Then, quietly, he added, “are you?” Sascha had to admit he hadn’t expected the whole ‘what are we’ cliche so early on in their relationship, let alone that he’d be the idiot to bring it up. Accidentally, in the middle of deep personal discussion. He cringed at himself. 

He hadn’t needed to worry, however, because Stef simply said, “Yeah, I think I am.” The boys gave each other dopey smiles. 

Sascha leaned in to kiss Stefanos, their first proper kiss tonight. Stef‘s tongue tasted of mint chip and Sascha’s own waffle cone. For the first time in hours, neither of them was thinking about lost tennis matches at Wimbledon. 

**  
Neither boy was keen on trying to fall asleep alone after the rollercoaster of a day they’d both had. Stef suggested Sascha come and stay over at the house - his mother had been gently prodding him to share more about Sascha with them, and he figured now that they were officially together it was as good a time as any. 

They ambled back to the house hand in hand in the moonlight, talking about a million things that weren’t tennis. 

It had been a long time since Stef had had any form of a sleepover, especially with someone he liked. Not just a crush, but his own boyfriend, he thought with a thrill. 

When they walked through the door, Stef was half expecting the whole family to still be at the dining table playing games. However, the only person still up was Petros, who was sprawled on the big couch playing Xbox. He looked up when he heard the doorknob turn. 

“Oh, hi Sascha,” Petros greeted with surprise, “how was the ice cream adventure?”

Sascha smiled at the welcome as he and Stef went inside. “It was great, definitely cheered us both up.”

“That’s good,” Petros smiled.

Stef kicked off his shoes. “We’re heading upstairs. Are you sleeping soon?” 

Sascha turned around to take off his jacket and Petros took the opportunity to waggle his eyebrows at Stef. Stef rolled his eyes at his brother but couldn’t help the massive grin that spread on his face. Petros smiled back and turned back to his game. 

“Maybe, I’ll sleep when I lose. Which might take a while,” Petros gloated. 

“If you say so, show off,” Stef joked. 

Petros bid both boys goodnight and they headed upstairs to Stef’s room. 

Sascha had expected to feel somewhat nervous. After all, it had been years since he’d stayed over at a love interest’s house. But with Stef, he didn’t feel anxious. If he were to be really sappy, he’d actually admit that being with Stef felt right to him. 

Stef offered to lend Sascha some pyjamas. He accepted a pair of navy blue flannelette pants with orange cartoon lions on them. Sascha laughed when he saw them. 

“These are very cute,” Sascha grinned, “they look like you.” 

Stef smiled and offered Sascha the bathroom to change. When he re-emerged, Stef was in pyjamas and under the covers. 

Sascha felt the slightest bit shy all of a sudden. He couldn’t just let himself into Stef’s bed. 

As if sensing his boyfriend’s internal turmoil, Stef folded down the covers on the empty side of the bed with a flourish. “Don’t be silly, come here. I won’t bite.”

“But what if I wanted you to?” Sascha joked as he settled in beside Stefanos.

Stef swatted at his arm. “I’d tell you that my sister shares this wall and I’m not willing to scar her for life.” 

They both laughed, and the tiny bit of tension Sascha had felt melted away. 

After a few moments of amicable silence, Stef shut off the light from his lamp and wriggled closer to Sascha, resting his head on the older boy’s chest. 

Sascha sighed with contentment and kissed the top of Stef’s head. “Come here,” Sascha said, and Stef leaned up to kiss him properly. 

Sascha’s lips opened under Stef’s and Stef gently licked inside. Sascha’s tongue met Stef’s and Stef smiled, causing Sascha to lean back. 

“Stop smiling and let me kiss you, damn it,” Sascha chuckled. His arm wrapped around Stef’s waist and pulled them closer together. 

“But I was thinking,” Stef responded with a dopey grin. 

Sascha put his hand to Stef’s forehead. “Did it hurt?” 

Stef rolled his eyes and swatted at Sascha gently. “I realised that if we’d won we wouldn’t have even seen each other today, and then I caught myself actually being happy with how today turned out.”

Sascha hummed in agreement. “And to think you weren’t even gonna come out with me cause you’d already brushed your teeth...”

They both laughed. “Just kiss me, idiot,” Stef said softly. 

And Sascha did.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you would like to leave kudos or a comment it would mean the world to me! I’m adding this story to a collection with my first Saschanos fic as it could be seen as a loose sequel. 
> 
> Please let me know if you have ideas you’d like me to write for this pairing! They’re my favourite :)


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